Devices for processing images in real time, for recognizing, localizing and/or extracting their contexts, of objects corresponding to certain criteria are known. The selection criteria can be extremely varied; it can be a question of speed, of a shape, a color or a combination of these criteria.
These devices can be utilized for facilitating the understanding of a scene or of a phenomenon by an observer or for controlling an automatism or automatic operation suing the information extracted in this fashion.
This type of device is described, for example, in the following publications FR 2.611.063 and WO 98/05002.
These devices implement a spatial and temporal processing unit that, receiving a S(PI) video signal, produces a certain number of parameters for each pixel. For example, this is the speed V, the direction DL, a certain time constant CO, and a binary VL validation parameter in addition to a delayed video signal VR and different frame, line and pixel synchronization signals grouped under the designation F.
In such devices, the interest in creating histograms of these parameters make it possible to structure, manipulate and exploit static information.
The purpose of these image processing devices is to provide at output a signal S′(t) that carries for each pixel meaningful information on the results of the application of the recognition or selection criteria. These criteria are predefined or elaborated by the imaging processing methods and devices themselves.
In particular, one such devices is known from the description in the WO 98/05002 patent application cited hereinbefore. In one such device, a set of STN calculation modules as represented in FIG. 1, that is described further on, receive data via a data bus and are interconnected by a backannotation bus conveying the results after classification.